


High and Mighty

by belladonawritings



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Macro/Micro, Masochism, Multi, Sibling Incest, Twincest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-10-02 23:20:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10230218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belladonawritings/pseuds/belladonawritings
Summary: Humans and Giants live side by side in an uneasy peace, a peace that Lavi and Deak Bookman aren't too concerned about. They have other things to worry about, like their steadily-approaching high school graduation and their debilitating crushes on Allen Walker. But after a sudden growth spurt, things change - and nobody can quite decide if it's for the better or not. Allen/Lavi, Allen/Deak, some Lavi/Deak, other pairings.NSFW as heckie. You've been warned.





	1. Chapter 1

ALLEN

                Allen Walker took a deep breath of midsummer air, and exhaled, staring up at the cloudless sky. It had been a good day, and he barely hurt at all. The embankment was quiet, and he threw down his schoolbag, sighing with relief as the pressure of the strap on his shoulder eased off, before he collapsed onto the grassy hill.

                He hadn’t had a lot of good days recently. He hadn’t even been able to leave his house last week – Lavi and Deak had brought home notes and watched movies with him while the pain meds did their work. But now he was feeling better, and he gazed over the river, heart beating a little faster. He was waiting for the Giants.

                It was stupid. He _knew_ it was stupid. Giants weren’t any different from Humans, aside from the obvious. But for all that he’d been raised by one, Cross was never around enough for Allen to feel much more than intimidation at his size and frustration at his distinct lack of parenting skills. Humans went to school with Humans. And Giants –

                The building across the way was massive. It was easily the size of a human skyscraper, but there were only two floors in it. Some of the Giants reached 80 feet tall – Allen shivered a little imagining that. Cross was a little smaller, only 70 feet, but he was scary enough as it was.

                The bell rang, and the building sprang to life, the figures in the sheer glass windows moving from their desks. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what being in one of those rooms would be like. He’d never been close – it wasn’t forbidden, but it certainly wasn’t recommended, especially for somebody like _him._

“I do _not_ understand your fascination with them,” came a quip from behind him. He startled, then quickly relaxed, turning to face Lavi.

                “Y-you came up from my b-blind side again,” he said quietly, but it wasn’t a reprimand. Lavi shrugged, but had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

                “Sorry.” He sat down next to Allen. A flump from the other side announced his brother’s presence, and Allen turned his head to give Deak a smile. Deak returned it, although Allen could see he was distracted. _I’ll ask about it later._

“So, any new giant crushes?”

                “Sh-shut _up,_ ” Allen grumbled goodnaturedly, but lifted his eyes back to the Giant side of the river. They were coming out of the door now, and he felt the familiar tick in his chest as he watched them climb out. They didn’t look quite like humans did. They had more muscles, more… _there-_ ness.

                One of them was lingering outside the door, waiting for someone. Allen let his eyes rake over the chest bulging out of the tank-top, the body hair curling out of his collar, then down, to the massive bulge visible at his crotch. _It’s probably bigger than I am,_ Allen thought with a flush –

                Lavi tapped his shoulder. Allen glanced at him, and he nodded his chin upwards.

“What –“ He raised his eyes back to the Giant’s face – and flushed red in horror. The Giant had seen him from across the river. There was a smirk on his face, and Allen could feel himself growing hotter and hotter. Shit.

The Giant pulled a pack of smokes and a lighter from his pocket, and with another glance up in Allen’s direction, he stuck one in his mouth, taking his time lighting it. Fuck. Fuck, he was doing it on _purpose._ Allen shifted his legs to hide his growing erection, unable to hide his embarrassed smile. The Giant tossed his head, flicking some black hair out of his eyes, then put the cigarette to his lips, taking a long drag, then blowing the smoke out with a slow, exaggerated breath.

“If we’re quite done watching Allen get off to his favourite fantasy,” drawled Deak suddenly, “I’d like to go home some time in the next century.”

Allen tore his eyes away, a sting of humiliation burning his cheeks and leaving a little trail of fire down into his chest. He could hear a smack behind him as Lavi hit his brother. “Y-yeah.” He stumbled to his feet, not looking at Deak yet.

Instead, he glanced up almost involuntarily at the Giant. He’d started his way down the River, but he caught Allen’s look, and waved lazily back. It made Allen feel a little better. After all, what was a little bit of harmless flirting?

He tried to pick up his backpack, then stumbled again, almost falling. Somebody caught him before he could make impact with the ground, but his bones still rattled, and he bit his lip, trying not to scream. So much for the good day.

“You okay, beansprout?” It was Deak. He could tell from the lower tone. That, and the casual insult.

“Y-yeah.” He was filled with the sudden urge to cry. Braces. Stutter. Missing arm. Missing eye. And a body that wouldn’t stop trying to fall apart. The Giant had probably been flirting with him out of _pity –_

“Want me to carry you?” Deak asked.

Allen couldn’t help but smile. Deak was an ass, but even if Allen flinched away from anybody anyway, he knew Deak didn’t mean it. “Mmhm.” He didn’t trust his voice for anything right now, so he just raised his arms and let Deak hoist him onto his back.

“No _fair,_ ” complained Lavi with a dramatic pout. “You got to carry him last time too!”

Deak stuck out his tongue in response. “You’re too slow. That’s why you don’t have a boyfriend.”

“You don’t have a boyfriend _either,_ ” he grumbled.

Allen let them bicker, closing his eyes and letting his arms relax on Deak’s broad shoulders. He buried his face in the nape of the older boy’s neck, red hair trailing off down into the collar of his shirt, and breathed in. Ten years. Ten years they’d taken care of him.

Ten years, and in two weeks, the twins were graduating and he was going to be on his own.

He kept his eyes stubbornly closed, and hoped that Deak couldn’t feel any of the tears hanging on his eyelashes.

\--

LAVI

                 The sun was setting over the rows of uniform houses as they walked home, gabled roofs casting silhouettes on the pavement, and Lavi shaded his eyes against the red light. Allen looked like he’d fallen asleep, white head nestled comfortably against his brother.

                “So,” Deak said finally, breaking the easy quiet. Lavi felt his good mood slip away.

                “So?”

                “Two weeks.”

                Lavi shrugged, ignoring the lurch in his stomach. “Yeah. No big.”

                Deak gave him another of his unreadable looks. It was infuriating, really, how somebody could look just like you and yet be so impossible to read. They’d never had a secret language. Never had a code, beyond what any brothers would have. Lavi had come out as gay with a tacky pink letter and a nervous grin. Deak had simply started bringing boys home. Lavi had applied to – and been accepted conditionally, with his terrible marks – to a college of the arts on one side of the country. Deak had quietly announced at dinner that MIT, Harvard and the Black Order had all accepted him, and that he’d chosen to go to the latter – on the other side.

                “You could still apply to the Black Order.” Deak hefted Allen up further onto his hips. “They don’t care about marks. And they’re still accepting students –“

                “We should get Allen home. Think he’ll have the energy to play some Mario Kart with us?” Lavi asked brightly.

                “Lavi –“

                “I still owe him for the ass-kicking he gave me last time –“

                ” _Lavi._ You can’t avoid it forever.”

                _I can certainly try,_ thought Lavi bitterly, although he didn’t let any of it show on his face. He just shrugged again. “It’s not a big deal. Seriously. Lighten up.”

                Deak frowned in response, then nodded briskly, dropping the matter. Lavi tucked his arms behind his head with a fake grin, then sprinted up the steps to the door of Allen’s house. “Wonder if Cross is coming home for the summer?”

                The older twin snorted at that. “Not likely.” He jostled Allen gently. “Hey, beansprout. We’re here.”

                “Mm. Comfy.”

                “I’m not your _bed._ ”

                Lavi tried to hide his wince. He could see the quick flash of hurt cross Allen’s still-half asleep features. Deak didn’t even seem to have noticed. “F-fine, grandpa,” Allen teased after a moment, and Deak eased him down onto the couch.

                _I can’t watch this._ Lavi turned and headed to the bathroom to grab some of Allen’s pain meds. He reached for the medicine cabinet, then paused, staring at himself in the mirror with a grimace. Same hair. Same eyes. Same _everything._

It was driving him crazy.

                “Which one do you think this time, Deak?”

                “I dunno. Bro was talking about Mario Kart.”

                “Don’t I always win at that?”

                The voices drifted in from the living room, and Lavi sighed, laughing a little at himself. It wasn’t anything different than usual. Neither he nor Deak would ever tell Allen how they felt. But – well –

                _At least I’m not being an asshole about it,_ he thought to himself, unable to stop the jealousy from rearing up inside him. Allen fawned over Deak. Deak said something cruel. Allen flinched away, refused to admit it, then forgave him. Rinse and repeat.

                Lavi opened the medicine cabinet, hunted down the pills he needed (one for muscle pain, one antibiotic, one multivitamin) and tried to feel happier about the fact that he was going far, _far_ away. Of course, there were some details that needed working out, but –

                “Are you coming?”

                “Yeah, just a sec!” He took a deep breath to steady himself then headed back out, sitting down on the couch next to Allen and shaking the pill bottles. “Got your meds.”

                “Oh, thank you!” He pressed his forehead to Lavi’s shoulder, then set down his video game controller. It was oddly shaped, constructed so that he could use it with his prosthetic, but it still didn’t explain how on earth he kept winning at Mario Kart. Lavi suspected magic. Or dirty tricks. After he’d swallowed the meds (with a grimace), he curled up on the couch, tucking his head against Lavi’s shoulder and sticking his feet in Deak’s lap. “So are we having a party or something?”

                Deak chuckled. “For the three of us?”

                Allen shrugged. “Why not?”

                “I vote pizza!”

                “Of course you do, Lav.” Allen cocked his head. “…Actually, so do I. Extra cheese, ground beef, pineapple –“

                “ _No,_ ” Deak and Lavi found themselves saying at once. Despite the sour taste in his mouth, Lavi couldn’t help but grin at his brother.

                “ _Fine,_ ” Allen pouted. “Let’s get… five. Three with pineapple, two without.”

                “And mushrooms!”

                Allen’s turn to pull a face. “You two are gross.”

                Lavi ruffled his hair. “Ah, you’ll learn to put the fun in fungus eventually.” From under his eyelashes, he watched Deak’s hands slide over Allen’s socked feet. He wasn’t _that_ oblivious.

A soft sigh left Allen’s lips, and he wriggled a little in his lap. “One of you call. I don’t wanna get up.”

 _Jerk,_ thought Lavi with rather less malice than he wished he could conjure. It was _impossible_ to stay mad at Allen. Unfortunately, it was equally impossible to tell whether or not Allen was teasing them – _him –_ on purpose or not. He reached for the phone, and told his growing arousal in no certain terms that it was going to behave itself.

\---

                A few hours of Hannibal later, Lavi closed the door behind him, waving a last goodnight to Allen. “See you tomorrow!”

                He didn’t lose the grin as he turned to his brother, even though Deak’s expression was rather less entertained. “So are you gonna tell him?”

                “Are you?” Deak retorted.

                Lavi snorted. “That’s funny. You’re funny. You should open a stand-up comedy at that rate.”

                “Has it ever occurred to you that we’re _both_ pathetic?”

                “What, two gay twins in love with the same boy? Nah. Never.” Lavi started walking down the street, then paused when he realized Deak wasn’t following him. He turned to look over his shoulder.

                Deak was still staring at Allen’s door.

                “Come on.” He almost felt bad. He probably could have been more sympathetic, but he didn’t know how. “It’s getting late.”

                Deak raised his eyes to the window in Allen’s room, but the curtains were drawn. Lavi wondered what emotion he was supposed to be reading from his brother’s face. Anger? Loneliness? Love? He still couldn’t tell. Once again, the mixed emotions flared up in him – happiness that he’d get a chance to be out from under the shadow of his twin, fear of what he’d find, and glossed over all of it, the overwhelming panic of change. Things were going to change, no matter what. There was no stopping it.

                Deak caught up to him, and quietly took Lavi’s hand, warm fingers interlacing with his. It wasn’t an unusual gesture, but Lavi found himself surprised anyway, unsure how to react. He tried to untangle his tongue. “Are you –“ He changed tack in the middle. “Do you think Grandpa’s home from work?”

                “It’s past ten, Lav. I should hope so.”

                _Stupid._ He wanted to ask so many other things. But he didn’t want to ask about the Black Order. He didn’t want to ask about Allen. He didn’t want to ask about any of the things that he couldn’t stop thinking about. Everything else just took up so much space. “Right.”

                Deak’s other hand found Lavi’s hair, ruffling it and messing up his bandana. “You’re distracted.”

                “When am I _not?_ You got to miss out on the ADHD funtimes,” he grumbled.

                Deak laughed at that, although Lavi couldn’t find any nastiness in it. He just stared at the sidewalk, trying to count the cracks in it, and before long he found himself avoiding as many as he could, and then one misstep later he trod on Deak’s foot, and he stumbled and ended up on his knees, and –

                Life sucked. That was his conclusion. Life sucked _balls,_ and it wasn’t Deak’s fault, but it wasn’t _not_ his fault either.

                The snort of laughter didn’t help either. Lavi got to his feet and stalked off, not even looking back behind him at Deak. He opened the door, slammed it behind him – “Oh _come on,_ Lavi –“

                “Are you two fighting again?”

                He ignored his grandfather with a growl, heading straight for his room. He could hear Deak behind him, footsteps echoing his – was _nothing_ his own –

                He tried to slam the bedroom door in Deak’s face too, but his twin caught it. “Are you done having a temper tantrum now?”

                Lavi turned to face him, angry response on his lips - and the small smile on his brother’s face took the steam out of him, and he deflated like a hot air balloon. “No,” he grumbled.

                “Uh huh.” Deak closed the door behind him, and advanced towards Lavi with a look he couldn’t quite describe as anything other than sly. Or perhaps foreboding. “Are you jealous?”

                “Jealous of _what?_ That he spends two more seconds looking at you than me? We have the same face!” …He did not like the look on his Lavi . Lavi found himself flushing nervously.

                Deak came closer and closer, until Lavi found himself backed against the bed. “I saw you looking at his feet,” he murmured, and – oh, he did not _just –_

“Was not,” Lavi grumbled, and then Deak’s mouth was at his neck, and the same old promise was getting murmured into his ear –

                “I’ll do you if you do me.”

                _I’m angry,_ Lavi tried to remind himself. But staying angry was so much work, and he wanted _Allen,_ but he could close his eyes and pretend - especially with hands at his belt and breath at his neck. _I’m angry –_ but he was painfully aroused too, and one of those was much, _much_ easier to deal with than the other. “Fuck you,” he growled.

                “Fuck you too,” Deak whispered back, and then his fingers wrapped around Lavi’s shaft and squeezed. Lavi tried to push Deak away, but his brother just shifted his weight onto him. “What’s the matter?” he teased. “Too strong for you?”

                “Ah –“ He struggled to vocalize some objection, eyes flickering closed. He _didn’t_ sub. Not ever. But Deak was the older one and what he said, or did, went. Lavi let his knees fall open, and Deak pushed his jeans further down, crawling on top of him. He couldn’t stop himself from moaning a little as Deak’s shaft pressed against his, even with – or perhaps _especially_ – with the touch of resentment as Deak pinned down his wrists.

                He tried to catch his breath, but Deak’s teeth at his throat winded him again, and his brother started thrusting against him, rough and careless. “I saw you watching,” the older said breathlessly.

                “W-watching what?”

                Another thrust. The pressure of Deak’s weight on him, on his cock, the heat of them together – “You were watching me rub his feet.  You were getting _off_ on it.”

                “Shut up-“

                “They’re just as soft as they look,” he teased, something dark and malicious lurking under the breathless whisper. “Next time I’ll get him to put them on my cock and you can just sit there and _watch –_ “

                “Fuck you!” Lavi fought against Deak’s grip, not with much success. “You smug – fucking –“

                Deak trapped both of Lavi’s wrists in his hand, reached down and started stroking their cocks together. Any more complaints were lost in a sea of moans, and he grinned down at his twin. “Shh. Wouldn’t want somebody to _hear._ ”

                Lavi closed his eyes, wriggling against the bedsheets, and his mind’s eyes was filled with Allen – Allen trying not to touch himself, staring at the Giant across the river – Allen sprawled under him, begging for more – Allen panting and sweat-covered – Allen tied up, his feet pinned together, Lavi’s cock thrusting between them –

                “ _Fuck!_ ” His orgasm hit him like a cinderblock, cum splattering his chest and stomach, and Deak laughed softly – and started thrusting harder, using Lavi solely for his own pleasure. Lavi found himself spreading his legs, the haze of his orgasm clouding his mind – _I’m not a sub I’m not like this not for my own brother –_ but the truth was, he _liked_ being used, just as much as he liked using people, and it hurt, it hurt and he loved it, and then Deak’s cum was spilling onto his chest and stomach and legs to mix with his own, and it was – _god._

It wasn’t going to make his intense need to screw Allen senseless go away completely, but it was a pretty good fix.

                Deak grabbed a box of tissues from the floor, and Lavi blinked, trying to get his sight to clear. “Why do _you_ recover so much faster than I do?” he slurred.

                “Superior genetics.”

                “Har har. Yer hilarious.”

                “Just lay back and let me clean you up.”

                Lavi didn’t mind _that._ Laziness was second nature, and he got a secondary thrill out of Deak’s touch on him again. They drifted into a comfortable silence, and he was just starting to appreciate it when his twin’s voice broke into it again.

                “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

                Lavi let that one lie. Instead, he reached forward and pulled Deak onto the bed next to him. He couldn’t quite say what he wanted to. He didn’t know whether that was pride, stubbornness or just the afterglow making him want to ignore the reality that lay ahead of them. “Just think,” he joked, voice a little too quiet, “I’ll have to masturbate like a _normal_ person.” It was easier than saying _I’ll miss you._

Deak’s only response was to flick his nose, and curl into his shoulder. Lavi supposed that would do.

ALLEN

                The painkillers were wearing off again, which meant it was time for bed. Allen closed the bedroom door behind him with an exhausted sigh, then lifted the hem of his shirt, carefully tugging it over the joints of his prosthetic with his flesh hand. He could control the fingers on his hand enough with the scraps of nerves in his upper arm to pick up larger things, but there wasn’t a lot of finesse to it. He mostly played his video games one-handed, with the special controller on the table.

                Once he’d gotten the shirt off, he carefully detached his prosthetic, carefully setting it aside – then, with decidedly _less_ care, shoved down his pants and boxers, stepping out of them and kicking them away. _Clothes,_ he grumbled to himself, _are a menace._  

Allen sat down on his bed with a ‘thump’. The mirror across from him fired his reflection back at him in all its burnt glory. One eye was perfect – the other was burned and scarred, the empty socket permanently closed. He’d had a glass eye for a while, but it had bothered him too much. It was probably still rolling around in his drawer somewhere.

                The scars running down the entire left side of his body bothered him more. They’d faded from their original bright red to a softer, almost-flesh tone over the years, but the scar tissue still marked him, still hurt every single day, especially around the stump of his elbow.

                Allen reached for the ointment on his bedside table, picked it up – and a spasm of pain lashed through his body. The ointment container clattered onto the floor. He gritted his teeth, and bent over to pick it up, using his feet to nudge it closer.

                _What are you going to do without Deak and Lavi?_

                He sighed, straightening up without a whimper and setting the ointment in his lap. He was _perfectly_ capable of functioning on his own. Cross’s extended vacations had proven that much. He’d just… be lonely.

                A lump rose in his throat as he thought of their afternoon together. The feeling of a clock counting down hadn’t hit him so hard until now – the way Lavi had stroked his head, the touch of Deak’s fingers on his bare feet, working out the kinks –

                He couldn’t help the flush that covered his face, and he coughed and opened the ointment, starting the process of working it into his burnt flesh. It hurt, but less than it had used to. Allen supposed that was progress.

                Tomorrow, maybe he’d see if he could find that Giant again…

                Allen kept working the ointment into his skin, twitching a little as the nerves pulsed at each touch. It was painful, but the stimulation was good as well. Nothing he did was without a little bit of pain and he’d learned to appreciate it, almost _enjoy_ it. Pain meant he was working, and pain that he could _control –_

He pushed his finger into his skin a little harder than necessary, and a small hiss left his mouth. God. Then he dragged down his fingers down his ruined skin, whimpering at the pain, encouraging it, part of him pulling away even as he kept his short nails on the still-raw scar tissue. His fingers left little white fading trails behind them, trailing down his stomach and resting just above his groin.

                Allen’s breath caught in his throat, and he lowered his hand to his cock, stiff and erect in his lap. He closed his fingers around it – then glanced up through his translucent eyelashes at the mirror.

                _He was flirting with you,_ he tried to remind himself. But with the mirror right in front of him, he couldn’t keep up the illusion.

                He got shakily to his feet, and almost biting through his tongue with a rage he couldn’t voice, threw a blanket over the mirror – then he collapsed onto the bed and tried to force himself unconscious. That was a good solution. That would work. That was fine.

                _What are you going to do without them?_

He bit down on the pillow, tears rolling down his face as he stifled his sobs. This pain was out of his control, and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

\---

DEAK

                Lavi had fallen asleep about half an hour before, and Deak pulled his arm quietly out from underneath him. It was time to talk to Grandfather.

                He pulled his arm gently out from underneath his sleeping brother, suppressing a chuckle. Lavi could fall asleep anywhere. It was one of his charms. Deak had always suffered from debilitating insomnia. It was one of his theories about why Lavi’s ADHD was so much worse than his – he wasn’t so fucking _tired_ all the time.

                He let himself out just as quietly, clicking the bedroom door closed behind him. Grandpa was waiting for him.

                “Your parents are coming home tomorrow,” was the first thing he said, and the silence stretched out as Deak gave him a stony glare in response.

                Finally, Deak caved. “And?”

                “And I thought you would be happy to hear that. They’re quite interested in being there for your graduation.”

                He chuckled darkly, walking past Grandfather to the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of water. “How nice of them.”

                “Deak –“ Grandfather started, then gave up. “I suppose it’s not worth the effort.”

                “Nope.”

                “It’s your own graduation –“

                “I’m not going,” Deak said flatly. “I have my diploma. I have my acceptance. I don’t like being stared at.”

                “What about Lavi?”

                “What _about_ him?”

                “He won’t go if you won’t.”

                Deak shrugged. “That’s his decision.” He took a swallow of his water, ignoring the pointed glare. “Was there anything else?”

                He had to admit, the frustrated glare on Grandfather’s face was equal parts terrifying and hilarious. He took another large gulp of water. “I’m going to bed,” he said.

                Grandfather let him go, but Deak could see the resignation on his face. Still, he was thankful not to be getting more of a lecture. He was starting to get a headache.

                Once he was back in their room, he tugged his shirt over his head. He felt…hot, for some reason. He thought he’d cooled off enough from his session with Lavi, but there were beads of sweat hanging onto his cheeks, neck and chest. He scrubbed them off with his shirt, noticing with irritation that his stubble was getting thick on his face again – he’d need to shave soon, and previous experiments had demonstrated that his beard was _exactly_ the same kind of wiry red as the hair on his head, chest and armpits. Not the most attractive, in his opinion.

                He pitched forward, the room suddenly spinning, and caught himself on the desk. What was _wrong_ with him? Food poisoning?

                He snapped his eyes up to the bed, where Lavi was murmuring in his sleep – and blinked, trying to clear his vision. Lavi was… _swelling_ underneath the blankets.

                “ _Lavi!_ Wake up!”

                His brother stirred, rubbing at his eyes. “Wh- It’s not morning _yet,_ is it-?” Then he sat up with a confused look. “What’s wrong with your _hands?_ ”

                Deak looked down at them. His hands were…swelling? He turned his palm up, and he could see the blood veins pulsing in them, and growing larger and larger with each heartbeat. Before long, his hands had grown to half their size again.

                Lavi stumbled out of bed, tearing at his shirt. Deak could see the sweatstains appearing on it, and Lavi panted, a feverish look in his eyes. “I’m – burning up –“ He tottered on his feet, which were swelling as well, looking faintly ridiculous on his stick-thin legs.

                Deak crossed the room, pressing his elongated fingers to Lavi’s cheek. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ve got you…”

                The bones in his legs started to creak, and with a horrified fascination, Deak realized the bed was getting smaller. “Lavi?”

                “Yeah?” he slurred.

                “Did you drug me?”

                “Funny,” Lavi said in a strained voice. “I was about to ask the same thing.” He raised his hand – now swelling just as much as his brother’s – to Deak’s chest. “Your chest –“

                Deak looked down. His thin chest hair was curling and thickening, spreading over his torso and running in a thin trail down past the waistband of his jeans – a waistband that was getting tighter and tighter the longer he looked. They were _both_ growing, and with a jolt, Deak felt his ass press up against the wall.

                “What’s going on?” Lavi panted. His thighs were expanding in his boxers, and there was more hair growing there, too.

                “I don’t know!” The floor was getting farther and farther away – a few moments later, Deak felt the top of his head brush against the ceiling, and in a rush of panic, pushed Lavi to the floor. They were bigger than the bed now. Lavi put his hand out to steady himself, and his fingers closed easily around one of the pillows, now smaller than his palm.

                “Deak, we’re going to get _crushed_ if we stay in here –“

                “You want to try fitting through that door?” he snapped.

                “I could get my head through it, maybe?”

                Deak cursed under his breath, falling onto his knees to keep his head away from the ceiling. His jeans were tearing at the knees, his massive thighs stretching the fabric impossibly. He made a fist, and after taking a breath to prepare himself – drove it into the plaster above him. “ _Fuck!_ ” It hurt more than he’d thought it would, but it was the most he could do. They were _still_ growing – Lavi’s feet pushed against the wall, his knees buckling.

                The plaster rained down on them, and Lavi shielded his face with his hands. “What are you _doing?_ Mom and Dad will _kill_ us!”

                “If you’ve got a better suggestion –“ Deak drove his fist through the plaster again, making a hole big enough for his head – “I’d love to hear it. Get up.”

                Lavi tried, but only managed to get onto his knees. A moment later, the choice was taken from him as his head crashed through the ceiling. “ _Ow._ ”

                “That was what I was trying to _avoid!_ ”

                “Shut up,” Lavi grumbled. The sweat poured down both his and Deak’s faces, beading in the forest of hair on their chests. “God, my head hurts.”

                “I do _not_ want to hear about your headache.” Deak pushed his head through the ceiling to join Lavi, shoving his shoulders through. “…Are you growing _faster_ than me?”

                “Of course!” Lavi grinned back at him.

                “Don’t start,” he grumbled.

                “Don’t start _what?_ Flaunting how awesome my abs look right now?”

                “We’re growing to inhuman sizes, destroying our house in the process, and you’re worried about your _abs?_ ”

                Lavi’s response was to grin even wider, and flex his arm at his brother with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

                Deak sighed – then pushed his brother with a grumble. Lavi staggered backwards, put out his leg to steady himself – and put his foot through the outer wall.

                “Good job, Lavi! Wreck our house even _more,_ why don’t you?”

                “It’s already a ruin!”

                Far below them – and still getting smaller, good _god –_ Deak caught sight of a figure waving his arms. “Lavi, I think that’s Grandfather.”

                “What?” Lavi turned around, and smashed his head through another section of wall. “Ow.”

                “Watch your head –“

                A second later, the two of them burst through the roof with a clatter of tiles. Deak picked one of the tiles out of his chest hair with a sour expression. “You’re closer. Pick him up.”

                “Pick him _up?_ Isn’t that kind of _rude?_ ”

                “He’s trying to talk to us.”

                “Oh!” Lavi bent over, taking even more wall with him as he did, and Deak watched nervously as Lavi lowered his hand, trying to figure out _how_ exactly to pick up their increasingly-diminutive grandfather. Eventually Grandfather just climbed onto Lavi’s hand, and Lavi straightened up, the speed of his ascent forcing the old man to cling to his finger.

                By the time Lavi had brought Grandpa Bookman to the level of their face, Deak realized with a sigh of relief that it seemed like they had stopped growing. “Hey Gramps,” he said with a smile, picking another piece of tile out of his hair.

                The now-miniscule man scowled at him. “I suppose you think this is funny.”

                “A little bit,” said Lavi. “That’s probably the concussion. You don’t seem _surprised,_ though.”

                “I’m afraid I’m not. Irritated would probably be the better word.”

                Deak bit back a worse response in favour of something a little less profane. “I didn’t _do_ anything!”

                “I know,” said Grandfather with a sigh.

                “So how do we turn back?” asked Lavi. Deak hadn’t even thought of that, and he looked over at Grandfather with a sudden sense of alarm.

                “I’m afraid you don’t.” He looked up at Deak, arms folded and eyes narrowed. “You two are Giants now – for better or for worse.”

                Deak swallowed, his head spinning. _For better or for worse._ He’d been afraid of the future _before._

                Now what?

 


	2. Crossed Paths

                _The fire ate at him, ate his limbs, his hair, his throat. He tried to cry out. The flames stole his voice, turning his scream into nothing but a hollow whimper, aching and strangled and lost in the roar._

_“PAPA!”_

_He just kept moving forward. No sense of direction. No sense of time. And then he was stumbling out of the fire, but it clung to him, trying to drag him back in –_

_“You’re safe. You’re safe.”_

_He raised his burning eyes, and Lavi smiled down at him with soft eyes. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”_

_Allen closed his eyes and felt the fire go out –_

\---

                “Allen?”

                He jostled awake, heart racing and pain flaring from collarbone to hip. “Who’s here?” The remnants of his dream clung to his eyelids, and he rubbed them, trying to get the orange shadows to leave. He _hurt._

“Allen, we’re outside.”

                The voice was wrong. It sounded like a whisper, but it was so loud. “If you’re outside, how can I hear you?”

                “Uh –“

                “Oh, for christ’s sakes, Lavi.”

                _Lavi?_ Allen pinched himself gently, but he could barely feel it over the throbbing pain in his side. “Uh. Gu-guys?” He _had_ to still be dreaming. But these days, he could usually _tell_ when he was dreaming. Therapy had managed that much.

                Something shifted outside his window, and he started.

“Just come to the window.”

He got to his feet, stumbling to the window and still trying to shake off the haze hanging over his head. “Okay, well…” He grabbed a long t-shirt, pulling it over his head and letting it hang to his knees. "I d-don't know what this is all about, but -" He stepped closer to the window, opened the curtain - and let out an ungodly scream, falling backwards onto the floor.

 

The green eye staring through the window blinked, then rolled. "I knew he was going to scream."

 

"I thought he'd be better than that," came Lavi's mournful voice from behind it.

 

"...D-Deak? _Lavi?_ " Allen stuttered. "What's - Why - You -"

 

"Can you just come outside?"

 

"Um -" Allen fought his way to his feet, rubbing his eyes. Then he stuck his head out of the window.

 

Deak was kneeling down, face at the level of Allen's - _second-storey -_ bedroom. Behind him... Allen craned his neck upwards... there was Lavi, tall and definitely wearing a _lot_ fewer clothes than usual. "We had a sudden growth spurt."

 

"I see that," Allen squeaked. "Um. Your - your clothes?"

 

"Our clothes didn't grow, stupid."

 

"D-Don't call me stupid!" He stepped onto the window sill, trying to get a better view of them. "Did you - _eat_ something weird, or -?" They weren’t just bigger – they were… well, _bigger._ From here, he could see the muscles in their legs, taut and thick and bulging, and he could only _imagine_ what their arms and chests looked like…

 

He blushed and averted his eyes. Maybe he should _stop_ imagining.

 

Lavi laughed. "Man, I wish. Last thing I ate was that pizza, and you're still all teeny-tiny, so it's not that."

 

Deak held out his hand. "Come on."

 

"C-come on, _what?_ "

 

"We'll be able to hear you more easily if you get onto my hand."

 

Allen eyed the giant palm with trepidation. Deak's hand was bigger than his entire body now. Carefully, with a roiling unease in his stomach, he stepped out onto the flesh, tripping and falling onto his knees on the soft flesh. It was so _warm._ He probably should have expected that - but standing on it was... weird.

 

"Hang on tight."

 

"T-to what?" Then Deak stood up, and Allen shrieked again, the wind whipping through his hair. He flailed, then grabbed onto Deak's thumb for dear life.

 

Lavi's laugh echoed through the air, and Allen squeezed his eyes shut. God, he'd always wanted to be close to a Giant - but this wasn't really what he'd had in mind! He'd imagined it to be a _little_ less terrifying, for one.

 

"What's the matter, Allen?" Lavi teased. "Too much to handle?"

 

Allen cracked open one eye, looked down - then immediately wished he hadn't. "D-did you have to be so _tall?_ "

 

Lavi snorted. "It wasn't on purpose, darling."

 

"Maybe we can just chop you both off at the knees. Make it a little bit more manageable."

 

Deak sighed, and Allen felt it as another gust of wind. "Actually, it's... a bit more complicated than that."

 

Allen opened his eyes, then looked up at Deak and Lavi, still unsteady on his feet. "What? Why?"

 

"We don't have anything we need here. So we're going to the Black Order. Tonight."

 

"What?"

 

Lavi was frowning. "That's not what we said, Deak -"

 

"Well, it's what I'm saying now," the older twin snapped. "If anybody's going to know how to turn us back, it's them."

 

"Grandpa said -"

 

"Forget what Grandpa said."

 

Allen felt his heart sink, and he sat down on Deak's palm. "S-so you're here to say goodbye?" _It wasn't supposed to be so soon... More time! I needed more time!_

 

Lavi interrupted. "Actually, you could -"

 

"Could what?" Deak snapped.

 

"You could come with us."

 

"Don't be ridiculous," said Deak, but it was too late. The hope was already there in Allen's chest, rising and rising...

 

"Okay! I just - I gotta pack!"

 

"Lavi, we don't have _time -_ " but Allen interrupted him again.

 

"I'll just be five minutes!"

 

"Allen, you're sixteen!"

"So?" he retorted, unable to stop the excitement in his chest. "Cross is never home anyway. And I'm - I can't stand being stuck here anymore, not without you two, just..." Allen blinked away the sudden tears, then stared up at Deak. "Please," he whispered.

 

Deak chewed on the inside of his cheek. "...Make sure you have all your meds," he sighed finally. "And food. I don't know how long it'll take _us_ to get there, but it's 12 hours by car."

 

"Okay!"

 

Deak lowered him back to his window, and Allen jumped back in. What did he need? His medication... clothing... He grabbed a bag, stuffing in whatever he could manage, ignoring the pain that kept spasming through his arm and leg. He was going to make a new life, _with_ his friends. Maybe he'd come back. Maybe he wouldn't.

 

Either way, everything was going to _change._

 

\--

 

Change, apparently, was equally slow and boring, and slightly nauseating. It didn't matter how slowly Lavi walked, the jolts ran through his body, and he couldn't settle down. It was like being on the worst, crankiest train imaginable.

 

The view was nice, though. He could see the landscape spread out underneath him, trees brushing Lavi's thighs, hills hardly more than molehills, the few buildings that there were as small and fragile as dollhouses. And the stars - the stars had never seemed so close.

 

With a flush, he glanced at Lavi’s chest. The stars weren’t the only thing that was close. Lavi’s pecs were mountainous and thick, and only his blasted nerves stopped Allen from stroking them. Above him, on the bare skin, his friend’s nipple stood erect against the cool air, and he couldn’t decide whether it was funny, erotic or both. _I wonder how it would feel in my mouth…_

He was _not_ taking his thoughts in that direction. Not right now. He was just on an adventure with his friends, who he _didn’t_ have to lose – who he was getting to go with instead of watch leave him.

Allen let his gaze wander over to Deak, biting his lip as he admired the forest of hair that had sprung up over his chest. Lavi had it too, but the older twin’s chest was _covered_ with red curls, and while Allen hadn’t had the courage to touch them yet, he could only imagine they were as soft as Deak’s hair.

 _I feel like I’m being tortured,_ he grumbled to himself. _All I want to do is touch them all over and instead I have to behave and be a good friend. I’m too much of a nervous idiot to do anything._ Even if he’d tried to say anything, he would just stutter his way into a coma. Just his luck, really.

Besides, how did one try to explain to his best friends, _Hi, I’ve been lusting after both of you for years but now that you’re Giants I really honestly have to try?_ It just didn’t sound good.

No, better just to enjoy the view and suffer. And sigh miserably.

DEAK

                There was something in the distance, and Deak stopped to look at it.

                “What is it?” Lavi came to a stop in front of him, still cradling Allen protectively in his hand. Deak forced himself not to look, the stab of jealousy in his chest almost too much to bear.

                He turned his head back to whatever there was in the distance. A figure, almost their size, hunched over a group of houses. Then – tinny, small, but audible – there was a scream.

                That was enough for Deak. He sprang into action, long legs sprinting over the landscape, and he looked down with a sense of wonder as trees vanished into a blur underneath him – _I’m bigger than the trees –_ and hardly more than a dozen strides later, he was at the scene of the disaster.

                The other giant, crouched down by his feet, looked up at him. It – he – they? had long, bedraggled black hair framing its face, and it grinned up at Deak with filed, broken teeth. “Another Giant! Come to share?” It rose to its feet, and Deak realized with a shock of something he couldn’t place that the other Giant only came to his chest. “I found them first.”

                “Them?” Deak looked down, and his stomach roiled with horror. The other Giant was standing on the remains of a hamlet, not abandoned as he’d thought. He could see bodies, some still moving, others horrifyingly still. He took a few steps back, terrified that he might have contributed – “What have you _done?_ ”

                “Just what comes naturally. They’re done for. Find your own –“

                Deak closed his eyes for a second, steadied his nerves, then opened his eyes again and drove his fist into the Giant’s face, his heart pounding. The Giant toppled to the ground, far away from the destroyed village.

                “What’s going on?” Lavi called from behind him, followed by the sound of his footsteps. Deak dropped to his knees, getting as close to the ground as possible.

                “Are you okay?” he asked. Now that he had a closer look, he could see more living people, others trapped beneath the debris. He turned his head. “Allen?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Can you get in here and help these people out?”

                Allen nodded, and Lavi lowered him to the ground. Deak felt another stab of emotion, this time something more like concern – but he figured Allen could handle himself. _Are you sure?_ Asked a part of himself he didn’t really like. But he didn’t have time for that.

                “Deak? Who’s this guy?” asked Lavi in a low voice.

                He raised his head. The Giant was getting back to his feet. “Somebody on a power trip.”

                “A power trip? “ The Giant laughed. “And what are _you?_ Some tame Giants loose for the first time?”

                “You’re not wrong,” Deak replied. He circled the hamlet, approaching the Giant. There was a trail of gore dripping down from his lip, even though he didn’t seem injured. Deak didn’t want to think about what he’d been eating.

                “Man, what is your _problem?_ ” asked Lavi incredulously. “These are _people._ ”        

                “They’re _ants._ ” The Giant waited a beat – and then charged Lavi, wrapping his arms around the larger man’s middle and throwing him to the ground. It sent a quake vibrating through the earth, and Deak steadied himself, watching with concern as some of the nearby trees toppled.

                He had _not_ planned for this.

 

ALLEN

 

                Allen didn’t know what the hamlet looked like to the twins with their heads all the way up in the clouds, but down here, it looked like a mess. He took a deep breath, and picked his way over a fallen beam into the hamlet.

                “ _OH GOD there’s somebody else here-“_

“Whoa!” He took a step back, then stumbled onto his rear end. A jolt of pain seared through him, and he did his best to ignore it, blinking up at the person who’d screamed at him. “Um, hello! I’m here to – help?”

                “H-help?” She blinked at him. She was young, only a few years older than him, although the stiff bun she’d pulled her hair into made her look older. “How can you he – AAA!”

                A monstrous shadow crossed the village, and Allen watched in mixed wonder and horror as Deak crossed the hamlet in a single step, his muscled legs blocking out the sun. “Wow,” he breathed – then realized the woman was cowering in fear. Well, he wasn’t sure she’d _stopped._

“Wasn’t one of them _enough?_ ” she cried out.

                “N-no, no, it’s okay! The redheads are my friends.”

                “Your _friends?_ ”

                “Yeah! They’re g-good Giants.”

                She huffed. “Well, if you _say_ so –“ Another shadow careened overhead, and she shrieked as a massive foot landed close to the village.

                “Sorry,” came Lavi’s apologetic voice.

                “B-be more careful!” Allen reprimanded, turning his attention back to the terrified woman. “What’s your name?”

                “M-Miranda.”

                “I’m Allen Walker. How many people are hurt?”

                Despite the good nature of his question, she just burst into tears again. Allen resisted the urge to sigh. This was going to take a while.

LAVI

                Lavi’s head hit the ground, and he blinked, trying to clear his vision – and he saw the Giant lift its fist, readying a punch. “Fuck you,” he wheezed, lifting his knees and thrusting the Giant off of him and to the side. He tried to get up, but the Giant’s hands reached for his neck, and he fell to the ground again, his opponent’s fingers locking around his throat.

                His eyes locked onto the feral Giant’s, bloodshot and rolling. “You’re mine ­ _now,_ ” the Giant leered –

                “I don’t think so,” came Deak’s voice from behind Lavi. On cue, Lavi rolled over until he was on his back again, and Deak’s arm looped around the Giant’s neck, pulling him back and choking him. Lavi sprang to his feet, one foot landing perilously close to the village.

                “Sorry!” he called out, and heard Allen reply, “Be more careful!” Snarky brat.

                The Giant struggled against Deak’s muscled forearm, then bit down on his arm. Deak yelled out in pain, and the Giant took advantage of his weakness to break free, driving an elbow into his solar plexus and shoving him backward. He aimed another punch at Lavi, but Lavi managed to duck it, grabbing his arm and driving his knee into the other man’s stomach.

                The Giant dropped to the ground, winded. He sputtered out the beginning of something else – some curse or another jibe about how _powerful_ Giants were – but Lavi just drove his fist into his mouth, shaking his hand out as the Giant dropped like a sack of bricks. “You’re kind of one-note, aren’t you?”

ALLEN

                It turned out that even crying in terror, Miranda was a lot more capable than Allen would have given her credit for. By the time Lavi and Deak had finished tying up the rogue giant, blood still dripping from his cut lips, she and Allen had dragged the surviving villagers out into the center plaza. Some of them were unconscious; others were groaning in pain but otherwise okay, with crushed or broken limbs or cuts and scrapes on their heads and arms and legs.

                Others had obviously not survived, heads crushed or bodies torn apart. Those, out of equal parts respect and fear of doing something wrong, Miranda and Allen had left where they were.

                Now, Miranda was kneeling over one of the injured men, using a wet cloth to try wipe the blood from his face. “It’s okay,” she murmured, although her voice was shaking –

                Allen stood back. He wasn’t sure what to do. These weren’t his people, or his village.

                Then, suddenly, the man’s hand shot up. “Don’t _touch_ me!” he yelped suddenly, although the words were slurred.

                Miranda froze. “I – I’m sorry –“ Her voice shook even more, and Allen realized she was about to cry. “I didn’t –“

                “I don’t need your bad luck!”

                She shrank back, dropping the cloth. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –“

                “ _Get away from me!_ ”

                Lavi and Deak glanced down at the scene unfolding, and Allen raised his eyes to them, but they were just as confused as he was. Lavi squatted down, eyes concerned. “Hey, I’m sorry about all this, but –“

                “Oh, great, more giants! _Just_ what we need! You’re bad luck, Miranda Lotte, and we don’t need any more of it!”

                Miranda just bowed her head, the sobs that shook her shoulders quiet and repressed. “I’m sorry. I’ll go – I’m – I’m sorry.” It was obvious from the way she held her shoulders tight and high, the way she pressed her hands to her mouth, that she had nowhere else to go.

                Allen met Lavi’s eyes, then Deak’s. He could see uncertainty in the latter’s eyes, but Deak was always cautious – and uncertainty wasn’t a no.

                “Well,” he cut in, in a overly cheery voice, “since you don’t want her help, or her bad luck…”

                The man gave him a glare. “What are you implying?”

                Allen put his hands on Miranda’s shoulders, feeling them tense under his hands like she was expecting him to hit her. He was starting to regret saving half of these people, just a little bit. They’d been so happy to see him and Miranda when they were being pulled out of burning buildings – now, they were staring at her with distrust. Like she’d _brought_ the giant here. “Oh, nothing at all.” He grinned. “We’ll take her off your hands.”

                Honestly, the look on her eyes – a slightly wary shock, fading into a genuine relief – was worth the ache that was settling into his bones. Yeah. This was good.


End file.
